Ghost Love Score
by Twilight Zephyr
Summary: Falling in love with a vampire was one thing, trying to maintain a sense of normalcy in my life was a completely different matter. sequel to Poison, Jaspard, slash, femslash INDEFINITE HIATUS
1. Chapter 1: Paper Airplanes

**Notes:** I know that I promised that I'd have this out in June, but um, stuff happens and I got just a little distracted from this fandom and I wandered off into another. Somehow, I feel like a huge nerd being into it, but the fact that it's sort of gone a little more mainstream now makes me feel just a little better about the whole thing. Anyways, on with the story!  
**Words:** 5 047 words  
**Disclaimer:** The _Twilight_ series is the property of Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. Anything that isn't recognizable from the original series, though, is mine.

**Chapter 1: Paper Airplanes**

Summer vacation was looking more like a chore then anything. I'd already promised Carlisle a visit, and that was a planned week visit back to Vancouver. I'd be making the short plane ride alone, but Edward had promised that he'd drive me to the airport in Port Angeles so that I could make the connecting flight into Seattle and then the flight from there to Vancouver.

I could already feel the butterflies in my stomach.

Carlisle's reaction was what I was worried about, since I knew that my grandfather on his side had been a bit of a religious fanatic and had driven it into my father's head that being homosexual was a deadly sin that would get you sent to hell for. I hadn't spent very much time around him, mostly because he and Carlisle had been estranged for years, and hadn't spoken since Carlisle had been accepted into medical school. I just hoped that my father didn't agree too much with his father, or else I'd probably be thrown out.

Of course, the chucking me out into the streets wasn't something that I was too concerned about. Technically I was a legal adult, which meant that I had complete control over my life and that my father wasn't allowed to dictate how I was supposed to live. But then again, he couldn't really do that before seeing as he was hardly ever around. I don't get my social skills, or lack of them, from my mother.

Carlisle is, well, he's not a social butterfly. I think the divorce hit him harder, because it took him nearly eighteen years for him to get back on his feet and seeing if there was someone else out there for him. It's not that he's slow or unattractive, it's more that Carlisle just doesn't get out much; he's pretty much the definition of 'workaholic'.

Which was why I wasn't too nervous about the visit, because I didn't anticipate that he'd be home a lot to spend time with me.

"You'll be safe?" Edward asked just before I was about to go through security.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, "I'll be careful, don't worry."

He smiled and pulled me into his arms, "I can't help it, you haven't been out of my sight for the past several months for more then a day or two. I don't know if I'll survive these few days without you."

"Knowing you, you won't be able to hold out, so you'll wind up making your way to Vancouver anyway and stalking me down just to make sure that I haven't been killed in some freak accident."

"Very funny," Edward chuckled. "I've survived this long, I'm sure that I can make it through a few days. But..."

"Uh oh that doesn't sound good." I tried to wiggle away from him when he pinched my ass and frowned, which only made me grin bigger.

"Please do call me to tell me that you landed safely in Vancouver."

"Edward, it's not that long of a flight, I'll be fine. Who'd wanna crash a plane into Vancouver?" I rolled my eyes again. "I did offer you the choice of driving up to Vancouver with me, but you decided that it would be better for Carlisle if he had some time to prepare for meeting you and I agreed with that." I caught the look in his eyes and instantly changed my tune, "But if it means that much to you, then yes, I'll call the moment I'm safely in the airport terminal."

Edward smiled and pressed his lips quickly to mine before shooing me off towards security. I nearly missed what he said as he did so.

"You forgot to mention zombies."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The flight from Port Angeles to Seattle was just as dull as I remembered it, and the connecting flight to Vancouver was so uneventful that I wound up falling asleep. I don't normally sleep on planes when I'm by myself because I worry about the person sitting next to me, or I'm just too paranoid. Nonetheless, I made it safely to Vancouver all in one piece.

I hadn't bothered to pack anything other then what I could fit into my backpack, since a large majority of my stuff was still at Carlisle's. Alice had picked out my outfit for the trip, and had practically had to nearly blackmail me into packing another one of the outfits that she'd put together for me. It was buried at the bottom of my backpack where I hoped that Carlisle wouldn't notice it.

Like I promised Edward, the moment I got off the plane I took out the cell which had been my birthday present from Bella, and hit the speed dial for his own. The fact that Edward was the first number on my speed dial and not my father's or Esme's went to show just how important he was.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey Edward." I could feel a smile on my lips, and my voice sounded almost like a lovesick girl's, I was ashamed to admit that. "I landed safely."

"_I know, Alice was watching. Apparently she didn't appreciate my constant pacing very much because she got rather angry with me over it while she was trying to plan her romantic summer getaway with Bella._"

"Tell Alice I said hi and that I hope you didn't annoy her too much."

Edward chuckled, "_I'll pass the message along._"

"And speaking of romantic summer getaways..."

"_Charlie and I have already been discussing the details_," Edward began, there was the soft shuffling of papers over the phone. "_And I think that it would be best if after your visit with Carlisle, you and I flew from Vancouver to Calgary, and from there take another flight to New York, then a flight to London. We'll spend a day or two there before we take another flight into Bucharest._"

"I really hate long trips I hope you know, they make me irritable."

"_Bella told me that you spent almost the entire trip to London sleeping, and you did the same on the way back if I recall correctly._"

"Don't expect things like that to happen very often. I was tired, and I had an excuse to be tired. Having homicidal vampires intent on murdering me isn't something that I experience on an every day basis."

"_I would argue that._"

"Of course you would Edward, but I know better." Walking through the familiar doors into the main entrance area of the airport, near the exit doors, I could see Carlisle sitting in one of the generic fake leather chairs which were arranged into lounge-like areas. "Carlisle's here so I have to go, but I'll see you soon."

"_Take care, I love you._"

"Love you too."

The line clicked dead and I flipped the phone shut, sliding it back into my pocket and hoping that Carlisle really hadn't noticed because I didn't want to explain it to him. I hadn't exactly kept him very updated with my sporadic emails, I spent most of my time either with Edward or at the Swan house, and emailing Carlisle and Emmett was very low on my to-do list.

Mostly I just kept them out of the loop because I didn't want to say too much and accidentally let them in on things that they weren't supposed to know; like how vampires were real. Emmett already knew about my relationship with Edward, and I had begged him to keep it secret from my father, at least until I was ready to tell him not to expect grandkids from me.

"Jasper!" Carlisle smiled when he saw me approaching. He stood up almost immediately, and I noticed how his eyes looked me over.

I scuffed my foot against the ground and looked at my shoes, nervous, "Hey dad."

"You seem a lot happier then when I last saw you."

"Forks is growing on me," I replied as I followed him out and into the parkade. "It's not as dreary as I thought it was going to be, I feel a lot more accepted there."

Carlisle nodded, "That could be it, you never really did seem to fit in around here. So, Forks really isn't that bad then?"

"Nope, the people there are actually really nice. I've got a few friends, real friends."

Today must have been a good day, or Carlisle was just in a talkative mood, because he kept with the issue, "Really? Tell me about them."

"Um, okay." I was taken aback by Carlisle's attitude and eagerness to hear all about my life in Forks, but then I thought that it might have something to do with the fact that I hadn't really sent him a proper email since I'd gotten back from London.

"There's Angela, Angela Webber, and she's really nice. She's into anime too, so we've got a common interest there. But she's also not a very intrusive person, she doesn't feel like she has to fill every moment with chatter and she doesn't gossip either. All in all, she's a really great person." _She's also the only one of my friends in Forks who's human._

"What about the others?"

Carlisle was already climbing into the front seat of his Audi, and I hastened getting into the passenger seat. Once I was inside and buckled in, I continued.

"Alice is a bit eccentric, I told you about Alice, right? Well anyway, she's a bit of a shopaholic and apparently has decided that her job is to revamp my entire wardrobe by the time I finish high school. But besides that, she's got a good heart."

"There was another one, I think you said that they were dating Alice?"

I nodded, wondering briefly how Carlisle would take this next bit of information, but shoving it aside for the moment. "That would be Bella. She's a bit like Angela, a private person. Her heart's in the right place and she's a really caring and quiet individual who loves reading. She and I have sort of started a little book club of our own for the summer."

Ears reddening a little, Carlisle focused on the road instead of on me, "That... I mean, she sounds like a very nice person... but isn't she a little... young to be deciding that she's, well..."

"Bella and Alice have been together for several years, dad, I doubt that they're going to change who they are now. And besides that, they're perfect for each other; I don't see any problem with that."

"Yes well..."

"You know where I stand on the whole same-sex issue, dad. Mom doesn't mind either, she thinks that love is love, no matter where it comes from."

"I can see that, but still... it just... it just doesn't sit too well with me."

At least I'd been sort of right about Carlisle's stance on the whole homosexual issue, his upbringing had a lot to do with it. I knew that Esme had been raised in a much more liberal and open environment, and she also was in love with another woman, so it made sense that she supported it. I'd even seen straight people whisper that Bella and Alice were perfect for each other.

Shaking his head, Carlisle got down to business, "Right, well anyway, from your emails I gathered that you're seeing someone."

"That's right, I am dating now." It was just a lot more then dating; Edward and I had already committed to each other that we were going to be together for a lot longer then just the short span of a human life. I had his diamond heart to prove it.

"What is she like? Is she a good student? Is she decent? I hope that she's well-dressed and behaved, I won't have you seeing anyone who isn't up to the standards."

Mentally, I rolled my eyes remembering all of the heavy duty standards that Carlisle had told me he'd put on anyone I ever dated. Those rules had only come into effect when I'd turned sixteen, an age that Carlisle had deemed appropriate for dating. Only thing was, he'd never had to apply them until now. I sighed instead, carefully weighing out my answer.

"No tattoos and no piercings," I recited carefully. "An honors student who doesn't dress like they've gone through a wood shredder."

"I hope that you have some sort of photographic proof of all of this."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, "I've got one better, they're flying out to meet you in three days. But I have some photos to show you too."

This news seemed to surprise Carlisle, "I actually get to meet this girl?"

Maybe it was better that I break the news to Carlisle now rather then wait until we actually got back to the apartment. I'd rather not have to explain it to him when he saw the pictures that Alice had taken, since some of them were a little, well, a little too revealing. If I told him now, he'd have some time to absorb it all, and would hopefully be in a better mood when we got to the apartment.

"Yes, you actually get to meet him."

"... HIM?"

I felt my cheeks warm up, and I made sure that I was looking out the window when I responded, "You heard me right, dad. I said him."

"But – I – what – how?!"

Wondering how to talk my way out of this, I decided to stick as close to the truth as I could without revealing too much. "I'm not sure if I'm even gay, dad, it's just... I've never felt like this for anyone, much less any other guy. It's just... Edward's perfect, that's the only way I can describe him without it sounding too cheesy."

"... how do you know he's not just taking advantage of you?"

That ticked me off. "Edward wouldn't do that. He could have anyone he wanted, believe me, and he practically has the world at his fingers. But he chose me, dad, he loves me, and I know that for a fact."

"We'll see about that. I want to see these photos of him, and I want to hear more about his family and history first."

At least he was keeping an open mind, that was more then I could have asked for, considering the circumstances. I nodded.

"I brought the pictures for a reason, I didn't think that you'd let me off the hook easily without knowing what you were getting into. Alice took the pictures for me and then she insisted on turning it into an arts project, you can see the finished product when we get home."

"It can't be that bad."

"When Alice is involved, you learn to expect big things," I muttered.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

When we arrived at the condo, Carlisle lead the way in despite the fact that I could get there perfectly fine on my own. It wasn't until he'd actually opened the door and walked in that I realized that someone else was there.

"Carlisle! You're back!" The voice was female, a little too breathy and high, but otherwise it was a pleasant voice.

The woman who it belonged to wasn't too hard on the eyes either. She was around 5'5 or 5'6, and looked to be in her early to mid-thirties, with straightened brown hair which fell to her chin. Other then that, she was pretty without being breath-taking. I thought that she looked very at home as she hugged Carlisle in welcome and placed a simple chaste kiss on his lips.

"Hello to you too, Bree."

Once the two of them were finished, Bree looked over to me. I resisted the urge to cross my arms and glare at her as she gave me a once over, and instead smiled sheepishly; my acting skills had improved during my time in Forks.

"Um, hello," I greeted. "You must be Bree Coldwell, I'm Jasper." I held my hand out to her, smiling politely and hoping that she didn't already not like me. I was starting to worry that I maybe shouldn't have come back, even if it was just for a short visit.

"Yes, Carlisle's told me quite a bit about you." She took my hand in hers and gave it a firm shake. I didn't think she was that bad, but I could tell that she was a bit apprehensive still about me. Well, she wouldn't have to put up with me for very long, and it wasn't like I still lived with Carlisle, so she couldn't complain about that either. "You live with your mother, right?"

"Yeah, I'm living with my mom, Esme, down in Forks until I've finished high school."

"And what are you planning to do once you've graduated? Are you going to follow in your father's footsteps and become a doctor?"

_Remember to be polite, remember to be polite._ I kept repeating that to myself so that I wouldn't do something stupid. "I'm not exactly sure yet, I haven't applied anywhere and I'm still thinking about what I'd like to do, but I'm thinking of maybe getting into teaching or history."

Bree nodded, and didn't say much else before she disappeared into the kitchen to start preparing dinner, leaving me alone with Carlisle in the small, but nicely furnished, living room.

The TV was on low volume, and Carlisle and I were sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Bree had been the buffer zone between us until she'd left, and now the awkward silence from the car was back. So maybe I'd been a bit too hopeful in how Carlisle would take the news earlier. Though, I thought, he hadn't said anything about it nor had he tried to steer the conversation back towards that topic. I guessed that he was waiting for me to make the first move.

My bag was sitting beside my knees and leaning against the arm of the couch, easily within reach. I knew that I couldn't put this off for much longer, so I reached down and unzipped it, breaking the silence as I started digging through my bag to find the scrapbook that Alice had taken so much time to put together.

"What are you looking for?" Carlisle's voice sounded closer then before.

When I sat back up, scrapbook on my lap, I found that Carlisle was now sitting in the middle of the couch, leaning towards me. "I was just getting this, do you want to see those photos now?"

"Yes, let's see this 'Edward' character. What about his family? I hope that he comes from a nice family."

"His parents died when he was little, he's actually adopted," I told Carlisle. "And he also has three other adoptive siblings."

"Who adopted him?"

"Doctor Charlie Swan and his sister, Renée."

Carlisle nodded. I wasn't sure if he recognized the name, but seeing as Charlie had quite a reputation in Forks as being a world-class surgeon, I wouldn't be surprised. The field of surgeons who were that talented was small. I was pretty sure there was a picture in the scrapbook somewhere of Charlie, and I was pretty sure he was cooking something for my dinner when I'd stayed over one night. He was a surprisingly good cook.

Opening the book, the first page was mostly pictures of me that Alice had sneakily taken at various times of the day. There were a few of me shortly after I'd woken up in the morning, and I looked like a disaster, and there was even one of me when I'd fallen asleep on the couch one evening.

Carlisle said nothing on the collection of photos, because it was the next page which really mattered.

Flipping the page, there were a collection of pictures of the Swan family, along with Angela. The first one was of Angela and I. I had my arm around her shoulders and we were leaning our heads together so that we were both in the frame, and we were grinning to beat all hell.

The next one was of Alice and Bella, the former had her arms thrown around Bella's neck. Bella was giving Alice a piggyback with a small smile on her face, while Alice looked like the cat who'd eaten the canary. But then again, Alice always looked like that. Bella, on the other hand, was always the much more subdued one, more mature and soft-spoken. Though, she was heard when she wanted to be.

Rosalie had refused, as I'd expected, to let any pictures of herself go into the scrapbook, so there were none of her. But her husband, Riley, had absolutely no problems with that; and his enthusiasm for the project was almost equal to Alice's, and he'd taken to stalking Edward in order to get the 'best and most true' photos of him. Luckily, Edward's ability to read minds helped him avoid any sticky situations, unlike me.

"This Doctor Swan has some very lovely kids," Carlisle commented when I pointed out all of the separate vampires in the pictures and identified them. "Does their behaviour match their appearances, though?"

"Yeah, I mean, Riley graduated this year and he's gotten into Dartmouth for next year," I replied. "And both Alice and Bella are honors students, like Edward."

"Uh huh..."

I flipped the page, showing several pictures of Edward. One of them was after the food fight that Alice had instigated in my kitchen the weekend after my birthday party. Well, that had certainly been one way to get rid of all that cake.

Since Bella and I were the only ones who Edward couldn't read, we'd ambushed him with our smushed pieces of cake, and had smeared them all over his face and his hair. The picture was one that I hadn't been sure of when Alice had put it in, but I thought that it was amusing and had let her leave it in. Most of the rejected pictures were awaiting Alice's artistic touch for a _**different**_ scrapbook. Alice was trying her best to document my last, really, year as a human so that I had a lot to look back on and reflect.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at the cake picture, "Do I want to know?"

"Um, too much cake. Alice's idea."

"Ah," Carlisle nodded his head in an understanding gesture. I noticed that his eyes took in all of the pictures of Edward, and several of the ones with me in them too. His face wrinkled up in contemplation in some places, but for the most part it remained a smooth mask.

Looking at each of the pictures gave me a chance to reflect and think about everything. Unconsciously, I touched the inside of my wrist, remembering the promise that Edward had made to me only a few short weeks before. He'd promised me not only an eternity to spend with him, but also that he'd be the one who would, in the end, turn me. Bella had explained it to me, so I understood it a little more.

The desire to turn me himself was a base need, and it would tie us together on a deeper level then any human ritual could. Vampires were, as I understood, extremely possessive creatures. If they perceived something belonged to them, then they wouldn't let it go very easily, and were very protective of whatever it was. In my case, it was Edward's near constant hovering over me and his willingness to die to protect me.

His lust for my blood was perfectly natural for him.

Every human has a different smell, and each scent has a different appeal to a vampire. But only a vampire's mate can elicit the same near uncontrollable blood lust in a vampire. I'd noticed that it was more prevalent when Edward was thirsty, when his control was more strained and difficult to maintain.

"He's, well, he's very good looking," Carlisle finally concluded, breaking me out of my thoughts. "But I'm going to hold out on my final judgement until I actually meet him."

I smiled at him, "You don't have to worry, I know that you'll like him."

"Dinner's ready you two!"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I wound up going to bed earlier then I normally would've, mostly to get away from Carlisle and Bree as they settled down on the couch to watch a romantic comedy. Even though both of them said that it was fine if I stayed and watched with them, I felt that it would be awkward and Bree really didn't want me there. So, instead I told them that I was tried from my flight and that I'd just go relax in my room.

They left me alone after that.

Once I was safely in my room, I dropped my bag at the end of my bed and went over to my computer on the desk; it wasn't as nice as the one I had in Forks, but it was still a good computer. Booting it up, the first thing I did when it was finished was open my internet and head straight for my email inbox.

I wasn't expecting anything from Edward, but there was an email from Emmett.

'_I'm so pissed that I missed your birthday! Though, I hear that it was still a load of fun! I can't imagine Ed of all people covered in cake! Please tell me you got a picture of that, cause I definitely wanna see it! I know it's a lot to ask, but do ya think it would be too much for ya to come back and visit me before school starts up again? Let me know please!_

_'Anyway, send uncle Carlisle my best, and I hope your trip was good! Emmett._'

While I hadn't bothered to keep up with Carlisle, it was much more difficult to ignore Emmett's emails for any length of time. If I didn't send him a response within a day, he'd start spamming my inbox full of messages telling me to get back to him as soon as possible. And if those didn't work, then the first thing that he'd do was phone me and instead hold the conversation that he would have normally had in emails on the phone.

Apparently, his girlfriend of two weeks had dumped him. Again. Which meant that he was dumping all of the baggage resulting from it on me. It explained why he was so anxious to have me visit, so he drag me to all the parties and movies and such that he'd normally go to with her.

Emmett never did have the best luck with women or men, for that matter.

'_Yeah, don't worry about it. I didn't have a huge party or anything, just a few of my friends in Forks came, along with Edward. As for Edward being covered in cake... yes, Alice definitely snapped a picture of that. It's in the scrapbook she made for me to show Carlisle._

_'I have no idea how Carlisle's taking finding out that his son is, well, I guess gay. He's not giving me much to go on, but I think that he's impressed with Edward. I'm just waiting on the actual meeting between the two of them before I make any real calls on how he'll take it. I'll make sure that I get back to you on it, though._

_'Will do, Jasper.'_

Sighing, I entertained myself just a little by flipping through the updates on OneManga for some of my favorite series' before I flicked off the computer and went through the motions of getting ready for bed. I hadn't lied when I'd said that I was tired, besides it was on the late side.

Carlisle and Bree had finished the first movie, and had started in on a second one. So I went into the bathroom as quietly as possible, took my shower, got into my pajamas, brushed my hair and teeth, then went back to my room and headed to bed.

I only had to last through a few more days until Edward was there, and then I could stop worrying over Carlisle's reaction.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

There's the first chapter of my new fic. For my rewrite of _New Moon_, I'm hoping that all of you will like it as much as you liked _Poison_. I'm still surprised by how much positive and encouraging feedback that I've gotten on that fic, and I hope that I'll continue to receive such support in the future. The next chapter may be a little slow in coming because I want to finish chapters three and four before I post it due to the fact that the second chapter ends with a really horrible cliff-hanger, and I'd hate to leave you guys with such a thing. It just wouldn't feel right.

Good news is that my Jakeward fic, _before the night turns into dawn_, will be finished within the next month at least. This is good because it gives me one less fic to worry over completing. I am a little sad to see it go, though, but I realize that writing a lot of depressing things isn't very good for me, and that fic has gained the nick-name of 'the emo-fic' among my friends. But anyways, enough about that.

Please leave me a review telling me what you think, and if you have any ideas or suggestions then I'd be glad to hear them too!

Twilight.


	2. Chapter 2: The Meeting

**Notes:** I'm glad to see that people are still interested in what I write, which is surprising actually, I thought people would start to get bored with hearing from me after a while. Though, I guess that the lack of uncanon _Twilight_ writers keeps people coming back for more from the same people, and considering that all I write is uncanon, I suppose I'm a very reliable source. Enough of that, on with the chapter!  
**Words:** 7150 words  
**Disclaimer: **The _Twilight_ series is the property of Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. Anything that isn't recognizable from the original series, though, is mine.

**Chapter 2: The Meeting**

Carlisle was easier to deal with then I remembered. Bree made it easier too, since Carlisle was very eager to spend much of his time with her instead of with me, and the two of them weren't home very often. There was still a lot of tension between me and Bree, and I doubted that it would ever iron over, but she wouldn't have to put up with me for too long.

The day that Edward was flying in, Carlisle and Bree were leaving on a lunch date followed by a movie. I'd told Carlisle that my 'boyfriend' would be arriving while he was out, and I got a staunch warning not to do anything inappropriate. With that warning echoing in my ears, I shut the door behind him, clicking the lock shut, then I turned back to the small condo.

I let out a heavy sigh, and then went about tidying everything up. Apparently if Bree wasn't around, Carlisle didn't see much point in putting things away or bothering to clean up after himself. Methodically, I went through his bedroom and mine, stripping the beds (which I realized hadn't been washed in a while), and chucking the dirty clothes into their respective hampers.

There was also that large stack of dishes which needed to be done, not to mention a dishwasher that needed to be emptied. I probably wouldn't get it all done before Edward arrived, but I wasn't too worried cause I'd just rope him into helping me. That wouldn't take too much effort, he'd helped me with this sort of thing before, back home in Forks. I knew that he didn't like it, but he helped because that got it done that much faster.

I tossed several of Carlisle's shirts in the general direction of the hamper I'd carted into his room, I didn't really care if they made it in or not, and I got down on my hands and knees to check under his bed. Somehow, things wound up shoved under there far too often.

The moment I pulled the skirt up, I immediately flew back into the dresser. Nope, I wasn't going back under there, even if there were dirty clothes that were desperately needed to be introduced to the washing machine. I wasn't going to risk my hands touching what I found, because really, there's only so much that a teenage boy could handle in terms of his father's dirty room.

No way I was going to be picking through the used condoms and condom wrappers that were under the bed. He could do that himself.

Quickly, I finished up with Carlisle's room, shoving the dirty clothes into the hamper and stacking the dirty dishes I found scattered about in neat piles on a corner of his dresser. I'd take them to the kitchen later, once I'd left the dirty clothes in the laundry room down the hall. The fact that Carlisle even had a laundry room in his condo was surprising, considering he hardly ever did any, and I wasn't surprised when I entered the small room to see that it had pretty much remained untouched since I'd left it months before.

There was already a load in the dryer, so I unloaded that and transferred it from the dryer into the empty hamper which was the ironing pile. I sort of wished that Alice was there, because she was amazing at ironing, she did it quickly and extremely well, something which I wasn't jealous of, per say, but it made my life easier.

Once I was finished that, I slammed the dryer door closed, and balanced the full hamper of dirty clothes on top of it. That left me with just sorting to do, and then I'd be pretty much busy for the entire afternoon doing chores around the condo so that it was more fit for human habitation. The rare times that Bree was over, some of the necessary chores got done, but more often then not, they weren't. My best guess was that I was being tested or something. Bree probably doubted what Carlisle had likely told her that I could do most of the domestic stuff myself.

Just as I was about to start sorting, a pair of cold hands settled on my hips, giving them a squeeze, and then there was a block of marble pressed against my back. Cold breath ghosted across my ear, and a voice that I'd know anywhere, whispered, "It's been a while."

Edward's sudden appearance startled me, and I jumped before calming down. My heart, though, was still racing wildly in my chest. I smiled, "Oh shut up and admit you missed me."

"Should I wax eloquently about how my life has been an empty and desolate place since you've been gone, about how I never want to be separated from you again?" His voice was soft, but I could hear the amusement in his voice; he was teasing me.

"Quit teasing me." I swatted his hands away, and I was about to go back to what I was doing but he stopped me with one of his sudden movements that left me dizzy.

Edward had turned me around, picked me up, and sat me down on the dryer all in the amount of time that it took a person to blink. His hands were back on my hips, pulling me close, "I did miss you, you know. I think I got on Riley's nerves just a tad when we went hunting."

I hadn't noticed that his eyes were a much warmer, light shade of gold; the shade that they always were after he'd gone hunting, "You went hunting before you came?"

"Of course, that's where I've been the past few days. I wasn't sure when the next time I would get to hunt would be, and I'll be hunting again before we leave for Romania, but I'll be fine until then, I promise."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Good, because I know how much more difficult it is to be around me when you're thirsty. How is everyone else doing?"

"They're fine, and even if it's difficult, I'd still do it," he replied, his lips close enough to mine so that they were nearly touching. "If I ever thought that you were in danger, I'd be there immediately, even if it was difficult for me to resist."

Sliding my hands up, I cupped his face between my hands, "I don't want that though. I want it to be easier for you, and I'd kick your ass if you tried to avoid hunting because you were worried about me and whether or not I was safe."

"I'd like to see you try."

I rolled my eyes, "Quit making a fool of yourself Edward and kiss me."

For once, he immediately complied, smiling just a little before he pressed his lips firmly to mine. The kiss was heated, hard, and passionate, but that was fine with me. It was a short-lived, but Edward only pulled back long enough for me to catch my breath before he leaned in for another kiss. This time, he pressed his lips softly to mine. This kiss was much slower, exploratory in nature, and it lasted much longer. It still left me breathless, though.

It took me a while to recover, but when I did, I grinned at him, pulling him close so our foreheads could touch, and muttered, "Carlisle said nothing naughty."

"What he doesn't know can't hurt you," Edward pressed his lips to my temple before he pulled away, smiling. "But that can wait, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Uh yeah, actually. You can go empty the dishwasher and start a new load for me," I replied. "If you use that vampire speed of yours, then I'm pretty sure we can get everything done before Carlisle and Bree get back from their date."

"Putting me to work already?"

"I'm trying to domesticate you, you could at least try to feign that you're interested. But then, I know you're only really doing this because I'm asking it of you."

"Haha, too true!"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I was right; with Edward's help, it took an afternoon to finish what would normally take me an entire day to do. All of the dishes were done and put away, and I'd just put the last load of laundry into the machine; all of the ironing was done and the clean clothes were put away. Edward was tucking the ironing board back into the utility closet, and I was putting the hamper back into Carlisle's closet, hoping that he'd take the hint to put his dirty clothes in there instead of on his floor.

When everything was back in its place, Edward found me coming out of Carlisle's room, and hoisted me over his shoulder. I hit his back, telling him as sternly as I could that he could put me the hell down, but he didn't listen to me and carried me into the family room.

He laid me down on the couch, climbing so that he was pinning me to the couch, and kissed me senseless in the span of a few seconds. I felt his lips trail down my neck, pulling the scarf away from my neck as he did so.

I froze when he did that, and when I felt his lips touch the scar on the side of my neck, it only intensified that feeling of self-loathing and disgust which I held for myself because of it. When his fangs grazed over the mark, I shivered, wondering if he'd actually follow through with the promise he'd made to me on my birthday. I doubted he'd turn me right there, but I remembered what Bella had told me.

The one thing I wanted more then anything at that moment, other then being with him forever, was for that scar to disappear. If it was his fangs which sank into my flesh, then I'd be fine with that. I knew he wouldn't drink my blood, but just biting me would make that control of his would make it even more difficult. He'd said before that drinking human blood would make it impossible for him to go out into the sun for one or two years, and I couldn't do that to him.

Would giving my blood voluntarily change that? Or would the fact that we were mates make my blood exempt from that rule? I didn't know, but I wanted to know.

Edward didn't give me the time to ask, though, because suddenly he'd pulled me back up into a sitting position and was sitting beside me. With a few quick movements, he straightened out my clothing, covering the scar back up with my scarf; incidentally, it was the one that Riley had given me for my birthday.

I looked to Edward for an answer, he smirked.

"Your father is coming down the hall right now," he explained. "He's rather giddy, I suppose you could say, from his date this afternoon."

He pressed his lips to my cheek, and when he pulled back, I could hear the front door creak open. Carlisle was back.

I reached out and grabbed onto Edward's hand, squeezing it, the familiar feeling of nervousness settling into the pit of my stomach. This was how I'd felt, somewhat, when I'd first arrived in Vancouver and had to tell my dad that I was 'dating' another man. Only this time it wasn't as bad, because Edward was there and I didn't have to worry about dealing with this alone.

"Jasper?" I heard Carlisle call, the familiar clink of his keys hitting the decorative bowl where he kept them.

"I'm in here dad!"

When Carlisle came into the family room, I heard a sharp intake of breath, and then my father's slow footsteps. I wasn't sure what to do.

Luckily, Edward seemed to have a better idea of what to do (and he probably knew exactly what Carlisle wanted), because he pulled me up off the couch and back onto my feet. He kept his smile polite and pleasant while I tried to catch up to what was running through his head.

Carlisle cleared his throat, breaking me out of my thoughts and bring me back into the present moment. He was waiting for me to start the introductions.

"Um, dad, this is Edward Swan," I began, not looking at either of them. I was blushing already. "Edward, this is my dad, Carlisle."

On the other hand, Edward seemed to have no problem with the stress, but then he had the advantage of knowing exactly what my father was thinking. He gave Carlisle his most charming smile and held out his hand, "Hello doctor Whitlock, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

I think Carlisle was taken aback by just how polite Edward was, but he recovered quickly enough. He took Edward's hand in his and gave it a quick shake, before they dropped hands, "You can call me Carlisle, and it's very nice to meet you too, Edward. Jasper has told me so much about you."

The smile on Edward's face grew, and I knew that he was hearing Carlisle's thoughts on the matter. I'd have to get him to spill it later, because the look in his eyes and his smile told me that my father's thoughts were very entertaining. I think Edward liked my father, but I couldn't really be sure until I actually had the chance to ask him, which wouldn't happen until the two of us were alone.

When the three of us sat back down on the couch, with me smushed in the middle between the two of them. Edward was careful with the contact he kept with me, only holding my hand and making sure that our entwined hands were between us and not resting on either my thigh or his. Carlisle's eyes carefully scrutinized us, even though it looked like he was paying attention to the TV.

He wasn't being very subtle about it.

"So, Edward," Carlisle began when the silence started to get too uncomfortable. "You don't seem like the kind of person who'd live in Forks."

Edward shrugged, "I've never complained about it, I like the town. Alice's only complaint is that it's such a long drive to Seattle, but she loves Forks too. It's a place that all of us love."

"Hmph." I knew that Carlisle hated Forks, it was just in his nature. I could remember his rants on the subject to Esme about the place being a boring town where the social life was fuelled by the gossip mill. His negative view on the town was the reason for why he refused to return to the small town, and also why he was so surprised that I actually liked it.

Being in the same room with Edward and Carlisle was a nightmare and also incredibly awkward. You could cut the the air with a knife, it was so stiff with tension. I was extremely glad when the evening was over and it was time for bed. Carlisle's threat before bed was that if he caught Edward in my room at all during the night he'd castrate him kept us separated.

His lips pressed against my temple, waking me up almost immediately. It helped when he whispered, "Are you awake?"

"Am now," I grumbled out, still half-asleep. Turning over, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down beside me, snuggling close to his side; the light from the sun was only creeping through my window. It was far too early to be getting up, much less awake. But I was glad for Edward's company.

"Carlisle left for an emergency shift at the hospital a few minutes ago," Edward's voice was low, and was lulling me back to sleep, but I was still awake enough to make sense of what he was saying. "Then he has his own shift today, so he won't be back until late tonight."

"Mhm... that's good..." My arms tightened around his waist, pulling him closer and maneuvering myself so that I was using his chest as a pillow. I'd be freezing when I actually woke up in a few hours, but I'd take that if it meant that I got to be close to him while I slept.

"You'll be cold when you wake up."

I mumbled something unintelligent, and drifted back to sleep very quickly.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Several hours later, I woke up properly. I wasn't as cold as I usually was when I slept using Edward as a pillow, but I wasn't about to complain. I could feel one of his arms was wrapped around my shoulders, holding me close to his chest. I sighed and curled closer. Sure I was hungry, but I could wait to eat for a few more minutes since it meant more to me to spend time with Edward then to waste it with my stupid human needs. Or at least, for a while.

"Are you actually awake now?" Edward's voice broke the peaceful quiet.

"Yeah, but I don't wanna get up just yet."

"Well, let me know when you want to actually get up for breakfast." He dropped a kiss to the top of my head, arm tightening around my shoulders.

I used the time to think about how my visit with Carlisle was going, and I felt just a little guilty that this might be the last time that I'd spend with him with me still being human. While Edward had promised that he'd turn me after I graduated from high school, he hadn't actually specified **_when_**. I could still have a chance to see Carlisle one last time before I had to say goodbye, but it made me feel a little upset that I'd be this selfish to hurt my father that way.

But then again, I thought, I associated with vampires. That meant that anyone close to me in danger, because for as long as I stayed human, the more curious other vampires would be. Maria and her coven had been interested in me (well, more like just Maria), because the presence of the Swan family convinced her that there had to be something special about me for the Swan coven to be spending so much time with me. Any of my family or friends could be put in danger if those vampires ever wanted to go after me. The sooner I was turned, the safer everyone else would be.

Thinking about my family, reminded me about Carlisle's warning that Edward and I were not allowed to get up to anything inappropriate while he was out of the house. Even though I was legally an adult, it was still his house, which meant that we had to follow his rules.

I blushed when I realized just where my mind was headed, and shoved those thoughts aside. I wasn't going to think about that until we weren't in Vancouver anymore. Maybe I could broach the subject when it was just Edward and I in Romania. He had, after all, promised that the rest of the summer would be about just the two of us.

Thinking about that made me smile.

"What are you smiling about?" Edward's voice was pleasant. He was curious.

"Well, first off, I still can't believe that your father would ever have something custom built for us; that's a little hard to swallow."

"Technically speaking, he had it planned and constructed several years ago. He's just been waiting until I found that special someone for him to finally give it to me. You just came along at the perfect time; he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait."

"The fact that it's mine too is a little hard to deal with; I'm barely eighteen, and now I have a house of my own, and it's in another country! It's just a lot that I have to come to terms with at once."

He nodded in response to that, "I can understand that. What else is on your mind?"

"The fact that it's just going to be you and me," I replied. "We haven't spent that much time together alone yet, and I'm a little nervous about just what it is that we're going to do to occupy the time. I mean, there's sight-seeing, sure, but we can't do that for the entire time that we're there. And then there's a problem that you'll have to face that I won't be able to help you with."

"Which is?"

"Hunting. How are you going to hunt without having to worry about whether or not I'm safe? You've said before that I'm not allowed to go with you because of how you rely on your instincts when you hunt..."

"I'm surprised that you've been thinking about this so much," Edward was definitely amused that I'd been thinking about this so much, but I could feel him tense beneath me, and I knew that he was concerned about leaving me along too.

Now that I'd brought the subject up, Edward was putting much more thought into it then he usually did. He was probably making all sorts of plans that he'd propose to Charlie later, some of them completely outrageous and that I'd be pissed at him for later. I knew that all he wanted was to keep me safe, but sometimes Edward went a little overboard.

"I'll talk it over with Charlie later." Edward nodded, his mind made up. "We'll figure something out, don't worry about that."

"I don't like inconveniencing your family just because you're worried about my safety," I muttered. "I feel like I'm just putting all of you in more danger then you already are. You don't know how much it sucks to be the only human surrounded by a bunch of a vampires."

He smiled, sitting up and pulling me into his lap. His arms wrapped around me in a comforting gesture, "Don't feel so guilty about this; you know that all of them would do anything to keep you safe. You're part of our family now too."

I winced when he said that. There was a member of his family who didn't like me, at all. Rosalie.

"Rosalie doesn't like me. She'd rather see me die then have to sacrifice herself or her husband for my safety." It hurt to admit that, but I knew that it was the truth. Even though Riley had openly admitted to me that he already did think of me as a brother (a little one that needed to be protected), he'd had no luck with convincing his wife of the same. Rosalie tended to avoid me, and when we were forced into the same room together, she'd pretend that I didn't even exist.

"That's not completely true. Rosalie just has... more difficulties accepting our relationship then the others." That was all Edward would tell me on the subject of his temperamental and devastatingly gorgeous adoptive vampire sister. I'd given up on hoping that I'd ever know more about her.

Even I recognized a lost cause when I saw one. I'd just have to deal with the fact that Rosalie and I didn't get along, though I still hoped that just maybe I could repair my relationship with her when I wasn't a constant weak point to her family. If I wasn't always the reason for why her husband and family was putting their lives on the line, then maybe I'd be able to get along with her better. That was my hope, anyway. I wasn't putting too much faith in it.

My stomach chose that moment to start growling, I blushed.

"I think it's time that we get you something to eat before we decide on what we're going to do today," Edward smiled and helped me off the bed.

"Don't sound so damn cheerful about it!" I snapped back at him playfully. But it was true, we needed to figure out something to do, or else I'd probably bore him out of his mind.

Breakfast was quick; I just made myself some toast and then I quickly took a shower and got dressed. Since Edward was there, I decided to fish Alice's outfit out of the bottom of my bag and wear that instead of some of my more worn clothes that I'd left behind in Vancouver when I'd moved to Forks.

When I emerged from my room after everything was taken care of, Edward was leaning against the wall across from my room. I was confused about what he was up too, since he was fully dressed and cleaned up (but I'd expected that). He'd been like that when I'd stumbled out of the shower and into my room to get dressed. I was pretty sure that he already had a plan for today.

"So... what do you want to do ?" Since I figured he knew what he wanted to do, I'd go along with it. After all, I had no idea of what we could do.

"How about you just show me the city?"

Okay that I hadn't expected. "Sure, I guess. What do you want to see?"

I was sure that Edward had probably been to Vancouver before, since he wasn't fond of the sun because of what it did to his appearance, he'd had come here because of the rain and overcast weather. He'd already be familiar with most of the landmarks, so there'd be no point of my showing those to him. That didn't leave me with a lot of options.

"Anything that you'd like to show me."

That was an incredibly open suggestion.

Eventually, I settled on just showing Edward a few of my favourite places in Vancouver. We left Carlisle's condo building (I still had the spare key), and wandered down to where my old high school was. Since it was July, it was obviously empty and no one was around. Nonetheless, Edward still seemed interested in seeing it, and he asked me about what going there had been like, what the students had been like, etc.

"No one really liked me; I was always on the fringe of the social scene," I told him. "Girls didn't like me because I was smart and my appearance wasn't really all that appealing. A lot of the guys didn't think I was masculine enough, so they'd pick on me. But mostly, I was a huge target for the popular guys and girls to fling all sorts of names and mean stuff at, I got used to that after a while."

"There weren't a lot of pleasant people?"

I shook my head as we walked away, "Not really. Like I said, I didn't have any real friends; just people that I hung out with in my spare time. I sent them a few emails when I first moved down to Forks, but none of them really were interested in continuing whatever the hell you'd call our relationships. Long distance things don't tend to work out very well."

Edward nodded and let the subject drop, something that I was glad for.

We were walking down the street towards one of the beaches, one that happened to be my favourite. Even though it was lightly drizzling out, the two of us were only dressed in what we'd wear if it wasn't raining. I was wearing one of the hoodies that Alice had bought me, with the hood pulled up along with the scarf Riley had given me for my birthday. I liked the rain, but I got cold easily so it was best if I stayed as dry as possible.

On the other hand, Edward was looking like a fashion model in a charcoal jacket which hugged his muscular frame well and brought the focus to his shoulders. Under that he was wearing just a plain black tee with a pair of straight dark jeans. Even though it was an extremely casual outfit, he made it seem like the height of black-tie dinner wear. There was no way that he could ever be less then perfect.

My cheeks were flushed when we got to the edge of the beach and I realized that several of the popular kids from my old high school were there too. The rain had stopped by the time we got there, so I'd removed my hood when it came into sight.

The moment that I recognized Melissa and her hulking boyfriend Joe, I immediately thought about just turning around and leaving. But Edward's hand was around mine, and he was pulling me down onto the beach, anxious to see it.

I realized too late that because Edward couldn't read my mind, he wouldn't know that the two leaders of the group on the beach were the ones who were most responsible for making my time at high school here a living hell. The last thing that I wanted was to have to confront them here, because I knew that they'd recognize me easily and then the torment would start anew.

As we got closer, I could recognize the other two girls and the guy with Melissa and Joe. The bleached blond one was Zoey, and she always took joy in stealing other peoples boyfriends; especially if she felt that they'd be much better off with her. I'd seen the weeping girls whose boyfriends had been stolen by her, and I didn't want to go through her trying to get Edward away from me; even if I knew all too well that it would never happen.

The dark red haired girl was Jennifer, commonly known as Jen, and she delighted in just making fun of my appearance in general. She was the one who'd originally started circulating the rumours that I 'took it up the ass' from any guy that I happened to fancy or would do it with. That was complete bullshit because I'd never even had a boyfriend until I met Edward, and I hadn't even considered it either.

Victor was the only other guy in the group. Big, brawny, and stupid, Victor would listen to whatever Melissa or Joe told him to do. He was Joe's best friend, and it was pretty well known that he had a soft spot for Zoey; despite the fact that she never committed to him. I figured that one day she'd eventually get knocked up and would be forced to settle down; and that would be Victor's lucky day.

It was too late to turn back, because Melissa had looked up the moment we'd stepped onto the beach. She probably didn't recognize me until we were closer to the group, but I froze the moment I spotted that cruel smirk on her face. Without thinking, I ducked behind Edward, at which point he realized that something was definitely wrong with me.

"Jasper? Are you-"

"Well, well! If it isn't Jasper Hale back from exile!" Melissa's voice was about ten times worse then Lauren's. It was high and breathy, but also way too self-assured in tone. She loved to lord it over others that her father was extravagantly wealthy compared to everyone else's.

I was chewing my lip and trembling. My hands were tightened into white fists in Edward's jacket. I was terrified to move out from the safety of hiding behind him, but I knew that I'd have to move at some point if I wanted to keep Zoey's hands off **_my_** vampire.

Edward just seemed confused by all of this, but it didn't take him very long to clue into the situation. His mind-reading was a very handy little ability. It didn't take him too long to figure out that this was all going to go south very hard and very quickly. There was no easy or clean way out of this.

"The fag's back?" Joe.

Okay, that was **_really_** hitting beneath the belt! I could feel my temper start to swell inside of me, and I snapped at Joe for the first time ever.

"Fuck off," I snapped at him, charging out from behind the sanctuary of Edward's back. I stood, shaking, in front of my very confused vampire. I don't think he'd ever seen me that angry before; in fact, I don't think that I'd ever felt like punching someone so much ever before.

Jen giggled, "Oh look, the little pussy has claws. Be careful with him!"

I flushed just a little, which didn't go unnoticed by any of them. All of them laughed when they realized that Jen's comment had gotten to me. These people had made my life hell and now they were going to continue with that pattern even if they no longer were at the same school as me and didn't even live in the same country.

The only one not laughing was Zoey, and that was because she was too busy checking out Edward, and I knew by the predatory look in her eye that she'd already decided that he was perfect for her. There was no way that she'd overlook someone like Edward, just because of how he looked, but also because stealing him away from me would hurt me so much. She was hoping to break my heart, just like she'd done to so many girls.

"Oh, the little pussy has a lion now?" Zoey practically purred. It didn't take a genius or an empath to know just how turned on she was.

"You're right Zoey!" Melissa was joining in now. Victor was the only one who hadn't spoken, but he hardly ever did. He just lurked in the background, the muscle of the group.

"Still whoring yourself out? You've actually landed a catch!" Melissa taunted. I could see the hunger in her eyes as she looked Edward over. "Is he paying you or is it the other way around?"

Zoey was already making her way over, swaying her hips in a manner that was meant to be seductive. She'd set her sights on Edward, and there was no way that she would give up easily, "You shouldn't waste your time on Jasper, gorgeous, he can't stay in one man's bed for too long before he gets bored. What you need is a real woman, not a boy who can't satisfy a man."

I refused to let their cruel words get to me, but I could feel the tears welling up despite my control. They'd called me worse before, but it was usually something along the same lines. The reason that I hadn't really had any friends was because most of the guys had been convinced by Zoey's rumours that I'd sooner sleep with them and move onto the next one. It was a favourite of hers; she liked to make people believe that I whored myself out.

"He doesn't need a slut like you, Zoey, everyone knows that the reason you can't hold down a boyfriend is because you've already fucked everyone! What? Did the teachers get bored of you too?!" I was sinking down to their level but I didn't care. Already my raging anger and depression at their tormenting was getting to me and causing me to lash out harshly.

"You fucking WHORE!" Zoey's hand flew out, and I knew that Edward hadn't expected that or was trying to keep up the illusion that he was human, because her hand smacked me across the face. Hard. It didn't help that her nails were manicured and sharp, digging in and causing superficial scratches.

They still bled.

It wasn't so much the shock that she'd slapped me that caused me to fall down, more of the fact that she'd caused me to bleed and the knowledge that Edward desired my blood with a strength that was shocking. Would this set him off? I couldn't let him kill them, not even if they deserved it.

I didn't get much time to think over the matter, because before I could blink, Victor had pulled me up by my collar and was winding up for a punch that would probably dislocate my jaw or something. My eyes squeezed shut as I waited for the punch or Victor's death; whichever came first.

Surprisingly, there were no screams of pain and I wasn't suddenly dropped on my ass. As well, I didn't feel any fist connecting with my face. I didn't open my eyes, afraid of what I'd see.

Edward's cold voice broke the silence, "That's quite enough."

Now I opened my eyes, and was a little shocked. Edward hadn't killed anyone, which meant that he had more control over his blood lust then I thought he did, which made me feel horrible for my lack of faith in him. Furthermore, the reason that I hadn't been punched in the face was because Edward's hand was tightly wrapped around Victor's fist.

"I'm going to have to ask you to let go of my boyfriend or I am not going to be responsible for my actions." It was the same tone of voice that he'd used against Mike that time in the parking lot where he'd punched him.

But unlike Mike, Victor seemed to understand that challenging Edward to a fight would be a stupid idea; even if Edward was two times less brawny then him. It was just that he emitted malice and danger so thickly that even he could tell that it wouldn't be a good idea. I didn't doubt that Edward would beat Victor to within an inch of life if he made one move to hurting me. Edward had already stood by when Zoey had slapped me, he wasn't about to let a punch to my face slide.

I was promptly dropped onto my ass back in the damp sand.

With one last dark glare, Edward released Victor's fist, and instead half-turned to me and extended his hand wordlessly. I took it and let him pull me back onto my feet and then I was tucked back behind him. Apparently, I wasn't going to be allowed to deal with this situation anymore because it had gotten beyond my control and all of them had taken too many steps over the line.

Just for the record, all of them looked like they were about to shit their pants from sheer terror. You do not piss off vampires, especially if you're going after their future mates. I made a note of it so I wouldn't make that mistake in the future.

"Hey, look we were just-"

"I do not need to hear any of your petty excuses," Edward snapped. "I've already seen what your intent is, and calling Jasper any of the names which you just did is something that I won't stand for. Nor am I interested in any sexual advances that you might want from me." He directed that last bit at Zoey, who winced but didn't back down.

She really was a stupid girl.

"Oh come on, you'd pick someone like **_HIM_** over me?"

"I don't know you, and after how you treated my boyfriend, I don't care to."

Zoey turned all of her anger towards me, "You God damn fucking whore!"

I pressed myself against Edward's back, trying to hide from her fury and not let her words get to me. It didn't work. I was still crying. I knew that Edward could smell my tears, despite the fact that we were right beside the ocean, and that only set him off more.

"**_Say that again._**"

None of them were stupid enough to do so. Edward's face was contorted into a violent snarl, and I knew that he was close to losing control of his anger and that I had to get him out of there before Zoey dug her grave even deeper.

I wrapped my arms around Edward's waist, "Come on Edward, let's go."

"Fucking coward," Joe hissed.

Edward's posture was stiff, "I believe that I'm sparing you a very painful stay in hospital, and I would much rather avoid being charged with assault. It would be much more intelligent of you to back off right now."

"I think we can take you." Joe and Victor cracked their knuckles in a gesture that was meant to be threatening, but I could already see the fear in their eyes. They wouldn't actually challenge Edward to a fight; not when he was giving off such a dangerous aura.

When it looked like Edward might just indulge them, I tugged on his waist, "Come one Edward, let's go; they're not worth it."

My pleading won out in the end, and Edward turned away from them stiffly. His arm snaked around my waist possessively, and I could feel the muscles in his arm twitching at all of the restraint he was exerting over not just going back there and tearing them limb from limb.

We got away too easily, in my opinion, but I was glad that none of them decided to risk their lives further by insulting me or trying to goad Edward into a fight. I was willing to accept that one small blessing as I was led away from the beach and the shocked group of teenagers gathered there. Edward was pissed, which meant that I'd be the one who had to deal with trying to calm him down. Not that I really minded, but I was upset too which wouldn't help the situation at all.

Eventually, we stopped in an alley that was close to the beach. I wasn't surprised that we didn't just head back to the condo, but obviously Edward needed to calm down somewhere where he wasn't liable to breaking things that my dad would **_know_** weren't broken or damaged before.

I waited for him to break the silence.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Longest chapter yet for this series, and it's also probably got the worst ending too. I hate leaving you guys with cliff-hangers like this, so the moment that I finished this chapter, I immediately started working on the third one so that I could post them together as quickly as possible. Of course, I had to finish the fourth one as well before I could post either chapter.

So, um, if you're wondering about what that group of jerks was thinking, I'd rather not go into that cause it's some pretty nasty stuff. Trust me guys, you do not want to know and I seriously would rather not talk about it or bring it up again. Teens can be capable of a lot of things when they're jealous, and... well, it's just better if you don't know because I disturbed myself when I was writing this. Luckily, we won't hear from them again.

Other then that, enjoy your chapter and please leave a review telling me what you thought! Remember, suggestions and ideas are welcome!

Twilight.

PS. If you do favorite or alert this story, then I'd really appreciate it if you also took the time to leave me a review as a courtesy. Just a simple, 'I really like it!' would suffice. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3: Scents and Mates

**Notes:** Originally, I was going to wait until I'd finished the fourth chapter before I posted this, but then, I got a few reviews from someone, and well, those reviews convinced me that I just HAD to update this story NOW instead of waiting for the fourth chapter to be finished. And, um well, go and read and review her story in gratitude for this, because she's great at wreaking havoc with your heart. So, a shout out to you, TrekkieGirl12, and to your awesome fic, _Stolen_. I hope all of you enjoy this update.  
**Words:** 5547 words  
**Disclaimer: **The _Twilight_ series is the property of Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. Anything that isn't recognizable from the original series, though, is mine.

**Chapter 3: Scents and Mates**

Edward had me backed up against the wall of the alley, his hands on either side of my shoulders and they were actually **_fisted_** into the walls. For the first time I could remember, his breathing was actually laboured, and I realized that he was struggling to keep control of himself. Whatever he'd heard in their minds must have really set him off because I'd never seen him this close to losing his composure.

I started to get a little panicky. Bringing my arms up, I wrapped them around his neck, still unsure if I was helping him or not, I very nervously pressed myself against him. At that moment I had no idea if he was going to push me away, or just shove me up against the wall and do **_something_** to me that I was sure he'd regret and then angst over later. The only thing I could think of was to offer him as much comfort and support as I could until he'd regained his composure.

This was the first time that I'd seen Edward so close to losing his control, and it scared me just a little. Even when he was alone with me, those few times when his base instincts were near the surface, he'd never acted like this before. Whatever had been running through that group's minds had really set him off, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to know; but getting him to talk about it might help.

"Edward?" My voice was soft, I didn't want to startle him.

Before I could say anything else, Edward's arms had left the wall and were wrapped around me, nearly crushing me to him. I didn't dare say anything more, but I didn't have to wait long because Edward filled the silence, "I never... I never believed that there could be anyone out there who could..."

"What was it? Tell me what's wrong. What were they thinking? Let me in, let me help you." As best I could, I ran my hands through his hair in an effort to try and calm him down. I knew Edward, I knew that he had problems with his temper sometimes, and I'd always be a sore spot for him; there was no way he'd let them get away with any negative thoughts about me.

Now I was starting to worry about just what it was that they'd been thinking of. It was scary, to say the least.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to find out what it was that those asses from my old school had been thinking, because Edward was extremely tight-lipped about the entire thing.

"Give me a few minutes, I'll be fine."

For several long minutes, we just stood there with our arms wrapped around each other. I could feel Edward's muscles gradually begin to relax and that told me that he was slowly regaining control over himself. That was good, I wouldn't have to worry about him going off on a murder spree because some idiots thought some really stupid and inappropriate things about me.

Thinking about what Bella had said, all of the business with mates, it was starting to become easier for me to deal with it. Edward and I were mates, that was an unchangeable fact, and I could deal with that. It meant that we were just meant to be, as cheesy as that sounded, but at least it was the truth and that was a lot more then most human couples could say. As well, it made me feel better about having fallen so hard as fast as I had because at least it wasn't completely because I was easy.

"I'm sorry," Edward murmured. "As I've said before, sometimes it's difficult to control the more... cruel aspects of my nature, especially when it comes to you. But again, you are probably the only one who can put a stop to those very same instincts."

He pulled away, his hands sliding up from the small of my back to cradle my face between his hands and I let mine fall to my sides. For several long moments he just held my face and stared into my eyes. Then, his lips met mine in a very chaste kiss which lasted for only a few brief seconds before he pulled away. It was still enough to leave me breathless.

"Why is that?" I asked once my breathing had evened out. It wasn't completely fair that Edward didn't have to worry about this kind of thing whereas I did, and it was one thing that I'd miss just a little, but it would be worth it if it meant I could kiss him more often.

Edward frowned, as though he wasn't sure of whether or not he wanted me to know. I knew that he only did that because he wanted to protect me, but it was becoming just a little annoying. And besides, it wasn't as though he was the only vampire I knew.

"If you won't tell me, then I'll just call Bella or Alice and pester them into telling me," I threatened. "I really want to know, and if it'll help you then I think that I deserve to know."

He sighed and pulled me close again, "I have no idea what Bella's been telling you when I'm not around, but she seems to have the notion that you need to know as much about our kind as possible in her head. Or at least, that's all I've been able to gather from Alice."

I was a little surprised that Alice would know, but then again, she and Bella were mates so it probably meant that they had no secrets between them. And if Bella had a plan, then it was pretty likely that she'd gotten Alice mixed up in it too; those two are inseparable, especially when they're plotting something. Whatever they were planning this time, though, it didn't seem like Edward was too happy with it.

"That's not a problem though," I replied. "And I get the feeling that Bella isn't telling me everything either, she's only giving me the bare facts. She's probably hoping that you'll fill in the blanks for her."

Another sigh, and then Edward had released me, but kept a firm grip on my hand as we started to make our way back to Carlisle's condo. I was surprised that we were going back so soon.

"Um, why are we going back?"

"This is a conversation that I'd rather have with you in private where there isn't the chance that someone can overhear it." Edward's pace was a little faster then usual, and I had to jog just a little to keep up with him.

"But you are going to tell me why I can stop those, um, instincts of yours, right?" I just wanted to be sure, because sometimes what was important for me to know wasn't something that Edward felt too comfortable with sharing. And this was something that had been bugging me for a while now, it wasn't just because my being there had stopped him from killing those people, because that had happened before. I still remembered him rescuing me in that alley in Port Angeles.

"Since you're being so stubborn about it, I will, but not out here."

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

Edward was tight-lipped for the rest of the brief walk back to Carlisle's, and he wouldn't answer any of my questions once we got in the door either. He only seemed to relax, and I hadn't noticed how tense he'd been, until we were safely in my room with the window shut and the door locked. It might have seemed a little over the top, but after all the time I'd spent with vampires, I'd learned that they guard their secrets jealously.

"You remember when I told you how Renée and Esme are mates?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"The only ones in my family, now, who don't have mates would be Charlie and James," Edward began, I noticed that he was watching my face carefully, probably waiting for me to freak out or something. "It took me some time before I realized just what you are to me. I didn't realize at first when I started seeing you on a more regular basis that you are my mate, but after what happened in Port Angeles..."

His jaw tensed and his hands clenched into fists, and I could see the murderous intent glowing in his eyes. All of this was starting to make more sense, and I carefully reached out and laid my hand over his. What he'd said was true, but I'd only pieced together that we were mates after he'd told me about Renée and Esme and then it had only really made sense when Bella had filled in a few more gaps of my knowledge.

It didn't bother me so much now that we were mates, because it reassured me just a little about my status in our relationship. After all, I'm only human and I get jealous too. Since I was Edward's mate, it gave me some security in knowing that I really **_was_** the only one for him. Maybe it was a little possessive of me to think that I had some sort of otherworldly claim over Edward, but he's much more possessive of me then I am of him. It probably comes with the whole 'vampire' territory.

"So the reason that I have this sort of control of your instincts is because I'm your mate?" I wasn't sure if i was getting all of it right, but from where he was going, it sounded about right.

Edward seemed a little surprised that I'd put it all together so quickly, "Yes. Or at least, that's the only reason that I can come up with that makes sense. Because you're my mate, you're the most important person to me now and ever will be. It's difficult for me to deny you anything, because all I really want is for you to be happy."

"I know, it's the same for me." Then I frowned, a question lingering in the back of my mind.

A small smile tugged at the corners of Edward's lips, "There's something that you want to ask. Go ahead, I'll answer it as best I can, though I can't make any promises."

I had to remind myself that Edward didn't know everything, so there was a possibility that he wouldn't be able to answer my question, "Well I was just thinking... is it supposed to be... this strong, for me? I mean, for you I can understand how this whole mate thing is so strong, because it's part of your instincts and who you are, but for me... I just don't know if I'm supposed to be feeling it, or if it's just the fact that my empathy is acting up."

The silence lingered between us for several long moments while Edward tried to put together an answer or was trying to put together what little he knew of this sort of thing. I knew that most of what he knew about vampires was what he'd gathered from his own instincts and existence, as well as what Charlie had told him. Whatever answer he gave me would probably be incomplete or not as well-formed as I would've liked, but that was fine; I'd take what I could get.

"Charlie would have a better idea about this then me; he's spent much more time in the company of other vampires, ones who are much older then any of us or him. But from what I do know about mates and the connection between them, it is perfectly normal for the human to feel almost as strongly about the vampire," Edward began. "It's not a very documented thing in our society, most vampires play all of this mating business by ear."

"If that's true," the worry started to creep into my voice, "then how do you know that you've found your mate?"

"There are signs," Edward replied. "I've told you before, you're the only one for me. While I might not wanted to have admitted it at first, your scent was the first sign that, well, you and I were meant to be. Never before have I encountered a scent that is as appealing as yours is."

"So my 'scent' tells you that I'm your mate?"

"Partly, more or less, it's what first caught my attention and drew me to you. My feelings for you run much deeper then something so superficial as how your smell, you should know this by now." Edward's fingers traced along my jaw in feather light touches which left my heart racing, "It's not responsible for how I feel, but if it wasn't for it, then there's the chance that I might never have met you and none of this would have happened."

I felt really slow because Edward had to explain all of this to me in a lot more words then was probably necessary, but it was helping me to understand. Edward's fingers were gentle and cold against my skin, sending pleasant tingles down my spine and surprisingly helping me to focus my thoughts better.

Edward leaned in and brushed his nose along my jaw line, inhaling deeply and slowly. He pressed his lips against the pulse in my neck before he pulled away, smiling.

"Still, I do like how you smell."

It was enough to make me laugh, "Oh well thanks for clearing that up for me!"

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

The rest of our stay in Vancouver was brief and uneventful. If anymore of the dicks from my old high school had followed us around or tried to confront Edward or I, it was something that I wasn't aware of. Whenever we left the condo to do something, Edward was a lot more tense and observant as if he was trying to anticipate anything or anyone who might 'attack' us. Well, to be more specific, me, but that wasn't too important.

Carlisle was either working or out on dates with Bree, something I knew that he'd regret later, but I think it was just his way of dealing with everything. He was still making an effort to get along with Edward, for which I was incredibly grateful. And Edward was as polite and courteous as he always was.

I hadn't told Carlisle that I wasn't going back to Forks after visiting him in Vancouver, and I had no intent to tell him at any point. Luckily for us, we were flying into Calgary during one of his shifts at the hospital, so he'd just have to say his good-byes to us in the morning before he left. I wasn't looking forward to the incredibly long trip from Vancouver to Romania, and I wasn't sure how I could actually prepare for it.

I might have told Edward not to expect me to sleep very much on the long plane rides, but I doubted that I'd be able to stay awake. He'd probably wind up being my pillow for most of the long flights, and I wasn't too thrilled about it. What can I say? I really hate long flights.

I was surprised to find that Edward, who had brought two suitcases, had allowed Alice to pack one of those two suitcases full of new clothes that she'd bought specifically with me in mind. There was even a little note on top of all the clothes from her.

'_Jasper you'd better appreciate all the work that went into this! I kept in mind how much Edward __**adores**__ your ass in skinnies, so I made sure to include a lot of them! Make sure to thank me later!_'

I was horribly embarrassed by that. Edward had no idea of what she'd written, and I refused to share it with him because I didn't want to give him any ideas. For some reason, it brought back a whole lot of the questions and desires which I had towards him that I had no idea of how to express. Even if we were mates, I just didn't know how to tell him, or ask him, for some of it.

Carlisle gave me a hug, "You've grown up. I guess I'll just have to live with not getting to see you as often as I used to; you'll still come visit, right?"

"Yeah dad, don't worry about it." I felt bad that I had to lie to Carlisle, since that would be the last time that I saw him. I felt that I only had until just after graduation to spend with my father, and I wasn't going to spend a lot of time with him anyway. A clean break was probably better for him and for me.

He seemed a little nervous to leave me and Edward alone in the condo, but then again, he'd been very apprehensive towards Edward the entire time that my vampire had been there. He was making an effort, and I knew that he liked Edward (though he'd never admit it), but Carlisle would always be a little squeamish over the little details of our relationship.

Sex was the on that he _**REALLY**_ was.

Hell, I was nervous about that. I'd never been with anyone before, and while I knew how it was supposed to work and all the mechanics of it, I was just a little apprehensive about it. Edward would never hurt me, that was fact, but some of the horror stories that I heard made it out to be a little unpleasant at first.

My thoughts weren't helping the fact that I was blushing as Edward's arm around my waist tightened just a little as Carlisle walked out the door. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, and I was just a little worried that Edward would possibly pick up on my train of thought. Suddenly I was even more grateful for whatever glitch it was that kept Edward from being able to read my mind; it came in handy sometimes. Especially since I had no idea of how I could broach that subject with him.

I had to keep reminding myself that Edward was born near the turn of the century and was then raised in a time when everyone were real prudes. There was very little that I had to go on in terms of trying to figure out how he'd take such a conversation.

Though, this entire getaway to Romania was supposed to be just about the two of us. Edward had never actually put any boundaries on what I was allowed to ask him, and I decided that it seemed like a good idea to ask him about that when it was just the two of us in Romania where there was the possibility that we could actually do something regarding that entire I'm-still-a-virgin issue.

Or at least, I was hoping we would.

The next hour passed in a bit of a flurry as Edward made sure that both of us were packed and ready to go. He'd already called for a taxi to take us to the airport, and it was waiting outside by the time he managed to shoo me from the condo and had locked up after us. He'd insisted that I keep the key which I still had, mostly because it would eat up precious minutes and we were on a tight schedule. He'd given me longer then he'd originally planned to pack up, apparently.

Sometimes I think he forgets that I'm human.

Both of our suitcases were loaded into the trunk of the cab, and then my backpack and I were shepherded into the back seat. Edward slid in effortlessly after me. I was slightly miffed that he did so with that innate grace that all vampires seemed to have while I'd just sort of awkwardly climbed in.

The ride was short and quiet, Edward not broaching any unsafe topics. Unsafe meaning any topics that weren't fit for anyone to overhear, namely, any that had to do with his being a vampire and therefore not human. I'd gotten used to that months ago, so it wasn't that big of a deal to me. He kept the topics off of dangerous ones that would probably bring up any negative feelings in him. Mostly he asked me if I'd enjoyed my trip and whether I was curious or not as to what was going on in Forks.

"Has James had any luck yet?" I finally asked. It was no secret to any of the Swans, which now included me, that their newest addition had a thing for Jake. I thought it was cute.

Edward shook his head with a soft chuckle, "None whatsoever. Apparently, though, Billy's grounded his son from leaving the reserve. His little stunt of running off after their argument and going to you got him into quite a lot of trouble."

"Does Billy know that James is interested in Jake?"

Now Edward looked downright amused, "I am pretty sure that James would never see Jacob again if Billy were ever to find out that a vampire wanted to 'tap' his son."

"Poor guy would probably have a heart attack."

"That's nothing compared to what he would probably do to Jacob if he ever were to find out," Edward replied. "Especially since his son was so... _**flattered**_ by the attention."

"Jake's interested in him?" This was news to me. I'd been pretty much cut off from Jacob after he'd turned up on my doorstep that one evening back in June.

"Not really, he's a little horrified by it, you know the small town mindset is like that. It's just the fact that one of the 'untouchable' Swans has shown an interest in him, and we don't show an interest in anyone else, is a little bit of a boost to his ego."

"I doubt James'll give up on him that easily."

"I have to agree, James is very stubborn when it comes to what he wants," Edward's tone was light, then he added, quietly so that only I could hear, "It comes with the tracker territory."

I would've asked more about that, but I was cut off when we pulled up in front of the airport. Edward left the car before helping me out and then collecting our luggage from the trunk. He thanked the driver and paid him, leaving a generous tip, before leading the way into the large building. I hated being kept in suspense like this!

Once we'd checked in and had our baggage checked, we made our way towards security. The line-up was pretty long, and I got bored easily since it took a little longer then usual. Well, people were probably taking off on summer getaways or to visit family or that cabin they had tucked away somewhere. Needing a way to remedy my boredom, I turned to Edward.

"What did you mean by what you said earlier?" I asked.

"I said quite a few things earlier, to what are you referring to?" Edward replied playfully.

I frowned, "About James, and the 'tracker territory'."

He sighed as we moved up a little in the line. For several long moments, I thought that he wouldn't answer, but eventually he did, even though it was a little slow in coming.

"Trackers are, as the name implies, those of us who have gifts or talents which are particularly useful in tracking people down," he began. "They're very... possessive and don't like it when others get in the way of something that they want or desire. As well, they're not very easy to dissuade once they set their sights on something or, in this case, someone.

"On the note of possessiveness, they'll take out or remove any obstacles that may prevent them from getting whatever it is that they're after. In some cases, they can become fiercely protective of whoever it is that they may be after. Most times, it's a human that they plan to either turn or drink from, and they don't want anyone else to take that from them, otherwise they become extremely wrathful."

I frowned the fear working its way into my voice, "What do you think James wants from Jake?"

"Nothing dark or evil," Edward replied. "He's curious about him, and that is a, well it can be, a good sign. It's unfortunate that you were in the room with him, because it caused a bit of a confusion of smells, so he can't be sure if Jacob's scent appeals to him in the same sense that yours does to me."

"So they may be mates?"

"That's what James is trying to figure out, yes. He's thought about asking Alice, but he'd rather find out on his own rather then taking the easy route. Sometimes, it's the thrill of the chase or the challenge which makes it all the more worth it in the end."

"You know that Billy'll probably be even more pissed if he finds out that one of you is interested in his son. He still hasn't gotten over Esme's 'betrayal'." I was careful to exclude our plans for my future, because those were between him and me only. What I chose to do with my life was my choice, and that was my business. I hated how Billy kept sticking his nose into my family's lives.

Edward shrugged, "There are some things that no one can change."

We were at the front of the line by then, and I left Edward's side when one of the security personnel waved me over. After organizing everything so that it could go through the x-ray machine, I waited on the one side of the white line until the sort-of bored looking, middle-aged man waved me through. The metal detector didn't go off, so I was able to collect my stuff and put my shoes back on.

Edward came through a few minutes after me, he'd also not set the metal detector off and had no carry-on, so he was all set. He waited patiently for me as I shrugged back into my hoodie and zipped it up. He grabbed my backpack from the counter, and then escorted me towards the gate.

General boarding had just been called when we arrived, so we got into the line behind a tired-looking young woman who had a sleeping toddler balanced in her arms along with a baby bag slung over her shoulder. She glanced behind her once, and gave Edward a quick once-over, then quickly turned away with her cheeks tinged pink. I glared at the back of her head, feeling my own jealousy flare up.

Unexpectedly, Edward reached out and took my hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. When I looked up at him, he smiled down at me with that crooked grin of his that made my heart skip a beat or two. His way of silently reminding me that there was no competition for his affections, I was the only one for him and I knew that, but I still needed to be reminded sometimes.

He didn't relinquish his hold on my hand when we got to the attendant who checked our tickets and ID, then smiled, wished us a good flight, and let us go through the door.

Our seats were close to engines, something I wasn't too happy about because the noise was annoying. Edward took the window seat, and I sat between him and the rather fat looking man who sat in the aisle. I ignored the looks he kept casting at Edward and I. It wasn't a long a flight from Vancouver to Calgary, and I was glad to be back in the airport terminal, even if it was only for an hour.

I grabbed some Tim Hortons for lunch before trailing after Edward to the gate for our connecting flight to New York. We were going to be spending most of that night (since we'd be arriving in New York in the early evening) flying over the Atlantic. I wasn't looking forward to that, because I was starting to feel the exhaustion that long hours spent travelling wreaked on me.

The woman sitting beside me on the next flight was too talkative, always trying to keep up a conversation with me even though it was plain as day that I wasn't interested. Her voice was unpleasant, too high and girly, and it was hardly an engaging conversation, so I pulled my iPod out from where it was tucked away in one of my pockets, and very pointedly plugged the ear buds into my ears. Surprisingly, it stopped her from talking to me, but it didn't stop her incessant chattering.

She turned her attentions to Edward, who promptly tuned her out by pretending to sleep. I could feel his head resting on my shoulder in his fake slumber, and I would have rolled my eyes if I hadn't understood how annoying the woman was. His eyes were closed, further accenting the dark circles under them, and his chest rose and fell in the same rhythm as mine.

Luckily, the woman stopped bothering us after that and instead engaged the man sitting across the aisle from us in conversation. After that I stopped paying attention and drifted off to sleep myself.

Only a few hours later, Edward gently shook me awake, lips close to my temple, "Come on Jasper, we have one more flight to catch today."

I grumbled out a response, climbing out from my seat, gathering my belongings and following the crowd of people out of the plane and into the extremely crowded terminal. There was a danger there that Edward and I could get separated, but the vampire in question was having nothing of that. His arm was secure around my waist and holding me tightly to his side as he led me through the crowds of people.

Edward half-carried me to the gate before depositing me in one of the seats there, "Wait here, I'll get you something to eat." A stern glance was shot at me, "Don't move until I get back, I don't want you to get lost."

That last part was true, I would get lost if I tried to find my way to, say, a bathroom. I just nodded, too tired to do much else then just sit there and try to look awake. I was glad that the perky monstrosity was gone, because I couldn't take anymore of people attempting to be friendly when I just wanted to be left alone.

I was starting to drift again, and I was floating somewhere between being asleep and awake, when I started to get goose bumps along my arms and the hair on the back of my neck to stick up. There shouldn't have been any threats here, Edward wouldn't have left me somewhere where I wouldn't be safe, but then I realized that I was safe because no vampire would ever be daring enough to try and kill me or anything in the middle of an extremely busy and crowded airport; there'd be too many witnesses.

The presence I felt was one of pure malicious intent, "I'll get you... soon."

Snapping into conscious thought, I whirled around, only to see the back of a wild-haired woman retreating quickly into the crowd. I'd recognized her voice, I'd know that voice anywhere, and I was scared.

It had been Victoria. She wanted me, and I had an idea as to why. Revenge.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I'm having a lot more of these evil cliff-hangers in this story, aren't I? Well, you don't have to answer that because I know that there's a lot (this is the second in a row). But I did get this chapter out relatively quickly considering that I've been getting distracted quite a bit. Sorry, but I'm branching out just a little into other fandoms and they're eating up my time.

And I have one more thing that I'd like to ask all of you. Would you like to see a lemon in this story? It won't actually count as a chapter, it'll be a little insert (because writing lemons in first-person is a PAIN if you've ever tried to) that you can all read if you want too, and if you don't then you can just skip it. I want your input on this guys, so please tell me!

Thanks, and as always, leave me a comment or review please! Especially if you're favouriting this story or adding it to your alerts list. It's just a courtesy to do so, thank you!

Twilight.


	4. Chapter 4: Old Enemies

**Notes:** Chemistry is evil. Mostly because my teacher couldn't teach his way out of a paper bag, and I got distracted by the glory that is Star Trek, and well, yeah, I have no excuse. Sorry about how late this is, I forgot how hectic and crazy school can be; especially when it's your last year of high school. Here is your chapter, and again, I apologize for the delay; I had a bit of writer's block.  
**Words: **4139 words  
**Disclaimer: **The _Twilight_ series is the property of Stephanie Meyer, who I am definitely not. Anything that isn't recognizable from the original series, though, is mine.

**Chapter 4: Old Enemies**

I was shaking when Edward returned and my arms were wrapped tightly around myself as I tried to not have a panic attack in the middle of an airport terminal. Edward found me like that, and I knew he was worried when he set the food he'd brought aside, and kneeled in front of me, hands resting lightly on my knees.

"Jasper? What's wrong?"

My voice refused to co-operate, my throat felt dry, and my mouth wouldn't open. Everyone's suspicions had been right, James had been right to warn us that Victoria would attempt vengeance and that I was still in danger from his now largely destroyed coven. Edward hadn't been too worried about Victoria coming back for me or his family for revenge, but he'd still been careful, until right then.

His head suddenly snapped upright, nostrils flaring, and I knew that he'd found Victoria's scent, as faint as it probably was. It left me wondering if just maybe she'd touched something when she'd whispered her threat into my ear. That had to be it, because from what I knew of vampires, distinguishing one scent from the hundreds, or even thousands, of others that would be layered here would confuse everyone but the best trackers.

"Victoria."

Edward's eyes were narrowed, his body tense, and waves of murderous intent and malice rolling off of him. He didn't say anything else, but stood up stiffly and pulled out his phone. In moments, he'd dialled a number and pressed the phone to his ear. I could guess that he was calling someone in his family.

"Charlie, there's something that I need... no, Jasper's fine for now... yes, there's a threat to his life... you remember our friend Victoria? ... she's alive, and she's coming after him now... ask James – oh you've already done that, well can you – I see, well, have them stay undercover as much as possible, then. But tell Rose to behave."

The conversation was brief, and I couldn't make out most of it anyway. I was still in shock that Victoria had found me so easily, which wasn't too surprising because the Swans hadn't been putting in too much effort towards covering up my whereabouts. What really scared me was that she could've possibly followed me to Vancouver, and I'd have put Carlisle in danger; if anything happened to him because of me, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

I'd already hurt Esme, I didn't want to hurt any other member of my family. That was enough to finally break me out of my body's forced silence.

"Carlisle...?"

"Alice had been watching Victoria ever since Esme was turned several months ago, she wasn't watching her too thoroughly, but anything that could have posed a threat to you or any of your family, she would've made note of because _**that**_ is what she was looking for," Edward explained in a rush.

"So he's safe? And Emmett too?"

"Both of them are safe," Edward took a seat beside me, arms crossed. "Victoria hasn't gone near either of them, and we're going with the assumption that she probably isn't aware of their existence. Well, more like she probably does know, but has no idea of where to find them. It was a precaution that Alice took when this all started; she erased any and all connection you had to them, and she's been routinely making sure that your computer is wiped clean of anything that could lead her to them."

"Vampires hack computers?" I asked, a little skeptically.

"You'd be surprised," Edward replied with an almost smile. I could tell that he was having a little trouble making his lips turn up, probably worried about this newest development.

"I guess you do have to be worried that a bunch of maniacal, egotistical vampires may try and take over the world as we know it," I joked. "After all, they've had years to hone their skills."

"Oh yes, we're definitely to be feared."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, right along with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny among mythical creatures that exist and are attempting world domination. I think you've got your work cut out for you."

We continued along that line for a while, being sarcastic and joking in an effort to lighten the mood a little. I was still exhausted and the last thing I wanted were _**more**_ long flights, but Edward was anxious to get to London so that he could hide me away for a while as he planted a false trail before we actually made our way to our actual destination.

The flight from New York to London was as long, boring, and tiring as I remembered; the only difference this time being that there wasn't the threat of a childish vampire chasing me down. We still had the homicidal one who was after me for _**some reason**_ (no one knew why), but I doubted that she'd actually make her move now; not when the entire Swan family was still on alert. I kind of felt like a celebrity, and that Swans were my bodyguards, which cheered me up a bit, but still made me feel a little nauseous.

Or that could have been the lack of sleep finally getting to me; I wasn't too sure at that point.

The good news was that we made it to Heathrow airport just fine, and Edward checked us into a nearby hotel for the night. By the time the taxi pulled up in front, I was dead on my feet and Edward was practically carrying me into the lobby, leaving my side only when he lowered me into one of the arm chairs to check-in and get the room card.

Once that was done, he came back over, picked me up and carried me into the elevator where he propped me up against the wall.

Even though I was exhausted, I still felt my cheeks warm up when he carried me because it was just downright _**embarrassing**_. The only good thing about it was that since it was so late, there was hardly anyone around to see it. No one would torment me or laugh at me for my weakness, but the girl at the check-in desk had seemed pretty jealous that _**I**_ was the one Edward was carrying and not her.

Anyway, the room was small, just a bed with a narrow desk along one wall with a chair, and then a wide flat-screen television mounted to the wall above that. A couch was pushed alongside the bed, separated by a night stand. As for the decor, well, it was very modern and a bit... quirky.

I glared at the hanging lamps, which were composed of black glass balls that had been cut at the bottom, leaving a hole. They were like an accident waiting to happen, I just knew that I'd bash my head into one of them before we left.

I was too tired to do much else, so I just kicked my shoes off and flopped onto the bed. After that everything was sort of blurry and I couldn't remember much of it. I know that Edward had straightened me out on the bed and gotten me under the covers because that's how I woke up the next morning.

The rest of the day was pretty much like the first, and we didn't arrive in Romania until some crazy hour in the morning. I was still exhausted from the long day of travelling before, so I pretty much crashed in the rental car that Edward took out from the airport to get us to the house Carlisle had built. I didn't get to admire the place or anything, because I was still unconscious and not waking up anytime soon when we arrived.

Well, there was always the next day.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

It was late in the evening when I finally woke up and actually felt **_awake and rested_**. I'd probably royally screwed up my sleep schedule, but I was fine with that because Edward would have to largely be nocturnal during our stay because of his aversion to sunlight. He'd never said it, but I knew that the sun caused him pain; I'd seen the tightness around his eyes and the tense set of his jaw on the few occasions he'd been exposed to it.

The room I woke up in was clearly the master bedroom of the place. The walls were painted a deep shade of chocolate brown and trimmed with delicately crafted black crown-moulding and trim. The large windows faced out over a cliff which overlooked the forest below; they were framed by dark, almost blood red curtains. The floor was hardwood, but a dark color that was almost black; I guessed that it was ebony.

The bed was huge; it had to be big enough to fit something like four people. The sheets and pillows were covered in a soft black cotton, while a decorative deep red comforter completed the look along with decorative throw pillows in red and gold. I felt like I was in Gryffindor house. I might have to change those colors...

As for the rest of the room, it was furnished in such a way to compliment the color scheme and also seem modern and classic at the same time. I could tell that both Alice and Charlie had had a hand in decorating the place, and I guessed that the rest of house, manor, whatever, looked similar. But I could look around later, at that moment, I wanted a shower, fresh clothes, and something to eat.

Edward wasn't in the room when I woke up, surprisingly, so I assumed that it was safe for me to wander around the house, or at least the master bedroom.

My suitcase was at the end of the bed, so I fished my toothbrush and toothpaste out of the bag, along with my shampoo and a fresh change of clothes. Alice had been placed in charge of my wardrobe for the trip, so I wasn't surprised by the tight clothing that I pulled out of the bag. It was a little cold, so I snatched one of the thin cardigans from the bag too, then made my way to the on suite bathroom.

The bathroom shared a similar color scheme as the bedroom, and was huge; the walls were a shade of lighter chocolate brown, still warm, and floor tiles were a dark slate. The sink was an elegant pedestal which curved up into a basin, and then the facet and taps were also of a similar elegant design. Hell, even the **_toilet_** had a refined look to it.

As for the rest of the bathroom, there was a huge jacuzzi style bathtub tucked into one corner that was obviously designed for more then one person. My cheeks warmed up at the idea of just what Edward and I could do with that tub. On the opposite side of the bathroom was an equally large, glass walled shower. The taps and the shower head had the same elegant look to them as on the bathtub and the sink.

The towels were hung on a rack, and there was a small stool near the shower. The towels, and the mats in front of the shower and the bathtub, were the same deep red as the curtains in the other room.

I grabbed one of lovely, big, fluffy towels off the rack and put it on the stool near the shower, within easy reach of the door. Then I stripped, chucking my clothes in the general direction of the hamper, which was tucked into a cupboard across from the toilet and sink.

The hot water was a welcome comfort. I'd been tense and just a little sore from sleeping in uncomfortable airport chairs and airplane ones too. I quickly shampooed my hair and just generally cleaned myself up before leaving the shower, grabbing the towel off the stool and quickly slinging it around my waist.

My clothes had somehow made it into the hamper (Edward had been in the bathroom; that made me blush), so I quickly dried myself off and got dressed in the clothes that I'd grabbed from my suitcase. I'd have to thank Alice later, because she'd organized them into very clear outfits so I knew exactly what I was supposed to wear with what.

Since I had no idea if we'd be staying in for dinner or not, I'd decided to err on the side of caution and I'd picked out something a bit dressier then what I'd usually wear.

Alice had decided that skinny jeans looked extremely good on me, because that was all I could find in my suitcase in terms of bottoms. I'd pulled out a pair of dark wash ones that looked black, along with one of the t-shirts that Alice had packed to go with it. In this case the t-shirt was actually a band t-shirt, which made me happy because it was really hard to get your hands on Nightwish shirts in the US.

Over top of the t-shirt I pulled on the thin, dark grey cardigan, followed by a plain black scarf which I looped around my neck, hiding the bite mark from view. I refused to look in the mirror when it wasn't covered.

I took a little longer then usual to make sure that I was presentable (just in case we did go out), and brushed my teeth, dried and brushed my hair, and then I pulled on my socks. Then I tossed the towel into the hamper on top of my clothes and made my way out of the bathroom.

Edward was waiting for me in the bedroom, sitting in one of the comfortable chairs which were arranged around a low coffee table. He immediately stood up and was standing in front of me the moment I entered the room; a smile on his face.

I guessed that he was as happy to be alone with me as I was.

The smile on his face took a decidedly admiring look to it as his eyes took in my entire body, and when he finally looked back up to meet my eyes, my cheeks felt like they were on fire. Oh, and the blood flow in my body had taken an interest south of the border, which didn't help my blush at all and just made me feel even more uncomfortable.

Could Edward smell my arousal? He probably could, and that realization had me nervously fisting and unfisting my fingers, and I quickly looked away and very pointedly stared at the floor.

That seemed to amuse Edward, because when he tilted my head up and made my eyes meet his. A tiny gasp slipped past my lips, because I could very plainly see the desire and lust in his eyes, and so I knew that he was feeling very similar to how I was feeling.

The moment was broken when my stomach growled.

Edward chuckled, and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips, "Well, I think that we should get some food in your stomach before we do anything... more strenuous."

He stepped away from me, and it wasn't until he was at the door of the bedroom that the meaning of his words caught up with me.

"Wait a minute... did you just say that I have to eat _**before we have sex**_?!"

Edward's laugh echoed back to me from the hallway.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

We did wind up venturing out into Bucharest for dinner, and I discovered that Alice had found another way to make sure that Edward's eyes never wandered very far from my lower half.

I hadn't realized that Alice had packed shoes in addition to my clothes until I was at the front door and there was a pair of black leather boots sitting there, with a note taped to toe of one of them. It was addressed to me, and written in Alice's trademark flourish handwriting. Apparently, she was going to do her utmost to make sure that Edward had to resist every temptation not to just bend me over... and yeah, I wasn't going to go there.

I didn't like to think that Alice was interfering in my and Edward's sex life, as non-existent as it was.

But I put the boots on anyway. They were plain black leather, flat soled, and came up to just below my knees. Now it was really obvious, with all the tight clothing that Alice had packed my suitcase with, that I wasn't heavy built and that in fact I did have a slender build. Edward probably had more muscle mass then I did, and that wasn't saying too much because he had a slim build, but was packed with muscles. In fact, I hadn't seen a real heavy-built vampire. Like, muscle-builder built. All of the male vampires I'd seen were slim and compact in terms of muscles; but it had nothing to do with how strong they actually were.

Edward's arms snaked around my waist and pulled me back against him. He pressed his lips to the skin just behind my ear and sighed, "There are some things I'll miss about this."

"About what? Me being human?"

He nodded, "Yes, there will. But when I think about the cost to keep things the way they are... I can't go there."

"That's alright. There'll be things that you'll gain too, right?" Normally I wasn't a very positive thinker, but Edward had basically made me the one who'd have to think positive because he didn't seem to really see anything but the negative.

"I won't have to lose you," Edward murmured. "That, I think, is the greatest driving force behind why I want... this for you."

Unconsciously, he rested his forehead on the crook of my neck, over the place where the scar from Maria was. I felt that familiar feeling of self-loathing that always accompanied any action Edward took around or over the scar. He knew why I hid it, but he hadn't talked about how he felt about it.

"There are others of our kind here." He'd changed the topic.

"What? Vampires?"

"Yes," Edward replied. "They're more... traditional in how they view our few customs. I haven't encountered them before, but Charlie's had the 'honor' of meeting them once before; shortly after he spent some time with the Volturi."

"That's a little cliché... vampires in Romania."

"Only because of Bram Stoker and his novel's popularity over the century and a bit that it's been published," he explained. "I... may have to do something about that mark which Maria left."

"Huh? Why? Wait – what do you mean?" I turned around in his arms, pressing my hands against his chest to steady myself as I did so. He kept his head on my shoulder, breathing deep and even. "Edward, what do –"

"I mean that I'll have to **_replace_** it," Edward explained in a low voice. "It means that I'll have to bite you, to leave a scar on you, on your neck, of my own to tell them that you really are mine. That I'll turn you one day soon."

"Bella said something about that, but she wasn't very specific about it."

He sighed, "It's an old custom that the Volturi have made sure continues on into this day and age. If a vampire has a human who is their mate, then they'll have a mark. If they don't, it means that the human is fair game to any other vampire who finds any appeal in them."

"Okay..." My voice wasn't as steady as I would've liked it to be, but I was remembering the pain that I'd felt when Maria had bitten me, and it wasn't an experience that I was too keen on experiencing again. I knew that Edward wouldn't actually _**hurt**_ me if he could avoid it, but he would do whatever it took to make sure that other vampires knew that I was off-limits and that hurting me could quite possibly get them destroyed.

I stopped and took a deep breath, "Does this mean that you're going to be biting me tonight?"

There was silence for a few moments, and then Edward's arms tightened around me, "I don't know. If we go out, then I'd rather take the precaution rather then risk them believing that someone else has claimed you... I don't want to hurt you, though. It's up to you whether you want this or not. If you choose to let me mark you, then there's no going back."

I took a deep breath and let myself think. I'd known for a while that I was in too deep in the whole vampire world so backing out really wasn't an option; one way or another I'd either wind up one of them or I'd wind up dead. If I let Edward 'mark' me, then I probably had a better chance of surviving long enough for him to actually turn me, which was what I wanted. Ever since Esme had been turned I'd been a bit jealous of her, even though she was my own mother and the circumstances of her turning weren't what she would've wanted. But I was scared of what it meant to die, and I loved Edward.

Thinking about it, it would be better to let Edward bite me then to let myself fall prey to another vampire or cause some sort of misunderstanding that could get him killed. That was the last thing that I wanted. I'd made up my mind months ago that I wanted this, but actually being presented with the chance was a lot different then just deciding that it was something that I wanted.

So, I turned myself around in Edward's arms so that I was facing him, and reached up to unwind the scarf from around my neck. I looked him straight in the eye and said, "Do it."

For several long moments, I thought that Edward's determination would waver, that he'd risk my safety, his safety, and our relationship just because he was loathe to inflict something on me that was such an intrinsic part of his nature that he couldn't deny it. Then his eyes hardened and he slowly tilted my head back and to the side, making my neck strain and go taught.

Then he leaned in and pressed his lips to the scar that Maria had left, making me shudder in response. He parted his lips, and I could feel the light prick of his fangs against my skin. His cold breath chilled the skin, raising goose bumps along my arms and the back of my neck. My heart thudded wildly with fear and anticipation.

He whispered, "I'm sorry."

And then he bit down.

**.:-o-:. .:-o-:. .:-o-:.**

I'm leaving you with an evil cliff-hanger again, and I'm sorry about that. The keyboard on my laptop is on the fritz right now, so I've borrowed my brother's keyboard and plugged it into mine so that I can actually type without having to copy and paste the letters whose keys aren't working on mine. Needless to say, it's really weird to be typing something on your laptop when you're not even actually typing ON it...

Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, I know that I promised it a long time ago, but real life got in the way and now I'm apparently failing Chem, so I really need to do well on it so that I DO NOT FAIL BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE REALLY BAD. It's not completely my fault, though, I didn't exactly get a stellar teacher. Other then that, I've been really sick for a few days, so that affected my ability to type and work too.

I should have the next chapter up soon... I hope. I'll start working on it immediately.

Twilight.


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